Swordfish stocks reportedly rebuilt

Four fisheries stocks, including Atlantic swordfish, have now been rebuilt to healthy levels, according to a report to Congress from NOAA's Fisheries Service.

Three stocks were removed from the overfishing list - those fished at a level that would threaten the stocks. For the first time since the report was issued in 1997, no stocks were added to the overfishing list.

In "Status of U.S. Fisheries," NOAA scientists reported that 85 percent of the stocks examined (212 of 250 stocks) were free from overfishing, or not fished at too high a level. The report also examined whether stocks are overfished - a fish population too low to ensure a maximum sustainable harvest - and found that 77 percent of the stocks examined (157 of 203 stocks) were not overfished.